“Basket Case,” by Green Day
I was recently talking to my fifteen-year-old nephew about what music he likes and was surprised — and then not surprised — when he said Green Day. Their songs are so durable and catchy and unexpectedly timeless. As Stephanie observes, they’re the one band that seemed to transcend all clique lines in her high school. That was certainly the case at my high school, which was divided between country music lovers, indie rock nerds, and hip-hop/pop fans. But everyone listened to Green Day.
“Walk This World,” by Heather Nova
In college I had a mixtape with this song and a bunch of other Lilith Fair types. My work-study job in college was in the dish room and there was an old beat-up stereo where you could play your tapes while you worked. I remember bringing my Lilith mix one Sunday morning, slightly worried that my coworker, a guy I didn’t know that well, would hate it. As it turned out, he loved Heather Nova in particular and said her voice reminded him of Laura Nyro, who I had never heard of. He ended up introducing me to a bunch of other female singers with gorgeous voices.
“The Bends,” by Radiohead
I chose this song for the lyric “I wish, I wish, I wish that something would happen.” There’s no better description of what it feels like to be a teenager, especially a teenager in a small town.
“Hyperballad,” by Björk
My boyfriend’s twin sister introduced me to Björk. I remember when she played the CD for me because Björk’s lush, emotional dance music was in such contrast to her spartan dorm room, which was really minimal with bare walls, all-white bedding, and hardly any furniture. Years later, one of my roommates lived in a similar fashion and blasted Björk whenever he felt depressed. “Hyperballad” was his favorite song and he had several different versions of it. I came to love it too, especially its dramatic and enigmatic lyrics.
“Marianne,” by Tori Amos
Tori Amos had a huge influence on me as a teenager. Aside from Claire Danes in My So-Called Life, there was no one else who seemed to speak to the emotional and sexual confusion of being a teenage girl. She was a big influence on a lot of girls I knew; I remember my chorus teacher accusing soloists of “Tori Amos — izing” their melodies. To an adult with tempered emotions, Tori Amos can sound over-the-top, and in my twenties, I was somewhat embarrassed by my love for her theatrical, angsty, hyperfeminine music. Now I appreciate her again, especially the way that so many of her songs are stories with a female character at the center. “Marianne” is one of my favorite of her story-songs, and apparently it’s based on someone Amos really knew.
“Man on the Moon,” by R.E.M.
Is this my favorite R.E.M. song? No, but it’s probably the most comforting one, which is why I chose it as the song that Stephanie hears when she’s coming down from a really bad ecstasy trip. The lyrics are mellow and easy to understand, especially for an R.E.M. song. I read somewhere that Michael Stipe was trying to write lyrics with more “yeahs” than Kurt Cobain’s.
“Who Will Save Your Soul,” by Jewel
There was no escaping this song in 1996. The chorus was so catchy and sincere that you couldn’t help remembering it. It played on both alternative and pop stations and it sprang to mind when I was thinking about what might be playing on Dean’s car radio.
“Onion Soup,” by Vic Chesnutt
I only recently discovered Vic Chesnutt. Unfortunately, it was his death in 2009 that brought his music to my attention. I wish I’d known about him when I was a teenager because I think I would have loved his lyrics, which are full of literary allusions. He’s a southern oddball who was discovered by Michael Stipe, and like Stipe, he has a distinctive singing voice and lyric vocabulary, a regional sensibility that’s part country and part art school — with a dash of Americana. I’ve just started getting into his music, but I thought this might be one of the songs that Stephanie would relate to, with its references to unsent letters and nostalgia for an old friendship.
“Castle on a Cloud,” from Les Misérables
Les Misérables was touring the country when I was in high school, and my church choir got together a big group to go see it. I loved the music when I was a teenager, but I must admit that it has gone stale for me over the years. However, this song has a sweet melody that I remember singing in middle school choir, and I feel certain that Robbie would have learned it in school and perhaps taken comfort in it.
“Ghost,” by the Indigo Girls
Indigo Girls rank right up there with Tori Amos as a Big Teenage Musical Influence. This heartbreakingly pretty song is the perfect one to listen to when, as my three-year-old likes to say, you need to “get the tears out.”
“Sunshine on My Shoulders,” by John Denver
I was recently listening to an interview with Nick DiPaolo on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast and was amused to learn that DiPaolo listens to John Denver’s Greatest Hits when he’s in bad traffic because it helps to calm his road rage. When I heard that, I thought, that’s exactly why I disliked Denver when I was a teenager, but why, as an adult, I understand his appeal. When I was trying to think of the kind of music that Stephanie’s mother would like but which Stephanie would think was unbearably cheesy, I chose Denver because his music would have been popular when Nicole was younger. I also thought Nicole would like his sweet voice and earnest lyrics — and that Stephanie might find them comforting after her mother’s death.
“My Father’s House,” by Bruce Springsteen
I became a big Springsteen fan without even realizing it. It started in 2003, when I lucked into a ticket to see Springsteen at Shea Stadium. It turned out to be an incredible concert, with two long encores. I was surprised by how many of the songs I knew, because I’d never bought any Springsteen albums or given his music much thought. It was as if I had absorbed Springsteen’s songs just by living in a small town and listening to a lot of rock music. After that concert I started listening to all his old albums. “My Father’s House” struck me as a perfect song for this playlist because of the imagery of forests and fields and ghostly voices. Thematically, it also covers similar ground; it’s about a man who has lost touch with his father and dreams of being a child again and returning home. 
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